Massena woman placed on probation for selling drugs

CANTON - A Massena-area woman has been placed on probation for her second drug sale conviction, but the county court judge warned her probation officials werent confident she would be successful during the five years she is supposed to be under their supervision.

St. Lawrence County Court Judge Jerome J. Richards sentenced Bobbie Jo French, 30, last listing an address of 2475 County Route 55, Brasher, to five years probation under the intensive supervision program and ordered her to pay $600 in restitution for a third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance conviction. She was also ordered to pay $375 in surcharges and fees. The court found there were compelling circumstances not to suspend her operating privileges. She was represented by St. Lawrence County Conflict Public Defender Amy L. Dona.

Ms. Dona noted her client had recently taken her GED examination and hopes to attend college in the future.

French had been charged with selling cocaine to another person on Sept. 16, 2010 in the village of Massena.

Judge Richards warned French she could face severe consequences if she fails to comply with the terms of her probation supervision.

Probation is not very confident about your chances for success. They are a little concerned about your attitude about what you are convicted of doing, he said, pointing to an indication that she had described her criminal activity as selling the product.

If you dont do what you are supposed to, we will move to the most serious consequence, prison as a second felony offender, Judge Richards said.

French, then living on Woodlawn Avenue in Massena, was indicted on three counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance in 2008. According to court documents, French sold cocaine on Jan. 25 and Feb. 22, 2007 in the village of Massena. She was convicted of a felony drug charge to satisfy that indictment.

In other recent county court cases heard by Judge Richards:

■ Charles E. Powell, 61, of 35 Riverside Drive, Apt. 2B, Canton, waived his right to have his case heard by a grand jury and pleaded guilty under a superior court information to possession of an obscene sexual performance by a child. He will be sentenced Feb. 11 and will also have to register as a sex offender. His release under the supervision of the probation department was continued. He is represented by St. Lawrence County Public Defender Stephen D. Button.

St. Lawrence County Sheriffs Department deputies had charged Powell with possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child, and promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child in February.

Deputies said an investigation that started with the Department of Homeland Security in May 2011 revealed that Powell was file sharing child pornographic videos with other users on the Internet. At one point during the investigation he allegedly provided a pornographic video to a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, not knowing who he was providing it to.

■ Cecelia Diabo, 28, of 422 North Ave., Syracuse, waived her right to have her case heard by a grand jury and pleaded guilty and appeared under a superior court information charging her with third-degree criminal possession of marijuana. She pleaded guilty to a reduced count of third-degree attempted criminal possession of marijuana. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 11. She is represented by Public Defender Button.

Ogdensburg-based state police had charged Diabowith third-degree criminal possession of marijuana following a stop at 8:30 a.m. May 17 on County Route 6 in the town of Oswegatchie. She reportedly was in possession of one pound of marijuana.

■ William Bartlett, 39, of 9851 state Route 56, Massena, waived his right to have his case heard by a grand jury and pleaded guilty to failure to register as a sex offender. The court has committed to sentence Bartlett to no worse than six months in the county jail and probation supervision when he returns to court on Feb. 11.

St. Lawrence County Sheriffs Department deputies had charged Bartlett in March with failure to register a change of address for failing to notify the registry of his address change within the mandated deadline. He is represented by Public Defender Button.

He was convicted of a sex crime in January 1997 in New Jersey. The New Jersey sex offender registry lists him as a moderate risk to commit another sex crime.

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